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ESCANABA---The Bay College men's basketball team battled hard on Saturday, but lost to the first-place Mid Michigan College Lakers, 87-66, at the Bay College Gym.
The result virtually dashed Bay's chances for winning another MCCAA North Conference championship, as the Norse fell three games behind the Lakers in the conference standings. Mid Michigan stayed undefeated in conference play.
Norse Coach Matt Johnson, who blasted his almost-entirely freshman team after a lackluster performance last Wednesday night against Kirtland Community College in Grayling, was more upbeat after this loss to the first-place Lakers.
“I was really, really pleased with our guys and their effort, how hard they worked, and what they did,” Johnson said. “It was a great effort by our guys. We just didn't hit enough shots. We lost a close game the other night, and I was way, way, more upset and disappointed from that close loss than a 20-point loss tonight. Because our kids played their tails off. They played super-hard tonight. The energy was there. We just ran out of gas a little bit.”
Mid Michigan (17-3 overall, 6-0 MCCAA) made 13 triples and shot 14-of-15 from the foul line, while the Norse made just seven triples and struggled on free throws (7-of-16).
“Completely different game if we make a few of those free throws, and make a few more of our three's,” Johnson said. “But I'm proud of our guys' effort. The crowd in here was great. It was freaking loud in here. That's what college basketball is supposed to be.”
Bay College led, 32-28, late in the first half, after Trey Frye scored twice inside and Ziad Abouali also scored in the paint. But the Lakers finished the first half on a 13-0 run to take a 41-32 lead at halftime, and they scored the first five points of the second half to go up by double digits at 46-32.
The Norse briefly got back in the game on back-to-back three's from Emerson Droubie, closing the deficit to 46-38. But Mid Michigan effectively put the game away by outscoring the Norse, 16-4, over the next three minutes, to go ahead, 62-42.
The main culprit for the Lakers was Vynce Overshown, who nailed seven triples and led all scorers with 25 points. All 15 of the shots he tried were three-pointers, along with four free throws. Zack Parks had a strong inside-out game with 17 points.
The Norse got 18 points from Droubie, including four triples. He also pulled down seven rebounds. Frye chipped in 13 points and dished out four assists, and Kelley had ten points on a pair of triples and four free throws.
Ziad Abouali came off the bench to score 12 points on six-of-eight shooting in the paint, and he grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. But it wasn't enough to prevent the Norse from suffering their fifth home court loss of the season.
With conference championship hopes gone, the Norse now focus on getting enough wins to make the NJCAA Region 12 tournament, and to get a home playoff game.
Bay is now 4-3 in conference play at the half point of the conference season, The top five teams in the eight-team conference make the playoffs, and right now, the Norse are in fourth place. The last home playoff spot is held by Kirtland by a half-game, and the Firebirds have the tiebreaker with Bay. Kirtland and Mid Michigan have a make-up game scheduled for Monday night in Mt. Pleasant.
After that make-up game Monday night, everybody will begin the second trip through the conference standings, with the eye on the post-season in a month's time.
First up for Bay (15-6 overall, 4-3 MCCAA) will be a home game Wednesday night against the North Central Michigan College Timberwolves (3-16 overall, 2-5 MCCAA).
“We've got to take care of business on Wednesday, and then we've got to win the ones that we're supposed to win,” Johnson said. “And we get another crack at these guys (Mid Michigan) at their place. I think our guys will be looking forward to that. We just have to step up to the plate and be better. We have to play like we did today all the time.”
Game time is 7:30 Wednesday night and it is Staff Appreciation Night at Bay College. It will be broadcast live on Maverick 106.3 FM and on-line at www.baynorse.com.
